Atulinda Allan/AP
The first migrant deported to Rwanda as part of a voluntary scheme is nowhere to be found at the luxury Hope Hostel in Kigali, where he was expected to stay.
An unnamed man became the first person to be sent to East Africa after being offered up to £3,000 financial aid and a complementary commercial flight out of London.
It is separate from the Conservative Government’s plan to deport to the central African country those arriving via small boats in the English Channel.
But according to reports in The Sun, Hope Hostel, which has been cleared for migrants sent by the UK, remains empty with the gates locked, with sources suggesting the man sent from the UK is “lying low” elsewhere in Rwanda.
Hope Hostel, originally constructed to house orphans from the 1994 genocide, has been recently refurbished to accommodate migrants sent from the UK.
The four-story building has 50 double rooms with balconies and can house up to 100 people.
The grounds feature a floodlit football pitch, a basketball court, and communal areas with wide-screen televisions, providing various recreational activities for residents.
Despite the current emptiness, Rwandan locals believe the new arrivals will be warmly welcomed. The migrants are provided with a 17-page booklet outlining their rights and expectations during their stay.
The booklet states that they will be given “safe and clean accommodation, food, healthcare, and recreation.” It also notes that “Rwanda is generally a safe country with a track record of supporting asylum seekers.”
The story has come to light as Yolande Makolo, a spokeswoman for the east African state, said Rwanda would initially be able to welcome more than 200 migrants under its deal with the UK.
Asked by the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg if Rwanda would be able to process tens of thousands of migrants as part of the deal, Ms Makolo said: “We will be able to welcome the migrants that the UK sends over the lifetime of this partnership.
“What I cannot tell you is how many thousands we are taking in the first year or the second year. This will depend on very many factors that are being worked out right now.”
She had earlier claimed there was a “misconception” that Rwanda was only prepared to take 200 initial migrants, telling the BBC: “Journalists have been visiting the initial accommodation that we have secured since the beginning of the partnership. This is Hope Hostel.
“That particular facility is able to take up to 200 people.
“However, we have already started initial discussions with other facilities around Kigali and further afield and these will be firmed up and signed once we know how many migrants are coming and when they are coming.
“So it has never been the case that we can only take 200 initially, that has been a misconception.”
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